i iPRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  BUNOIS 


The  School  Shop  and  the 
Christmas  Spirit 


Leonard  W.  Wahlstrom 


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Reprint  from 

The  Francis  W.  Parker  School  Year  Book,  Vol.  I 
1912 


Francis  AY.  Parker  School 


Year  Book 


21 


31  \*,4-2 

VJ\2-S 


The  School  Shop  and  the  Christmas  Spirit 

The  following  plan  df  utilizing  the  school  shop  has  been  used 
as  a means  of  developing  .a  broader  spirit  of  Christmas  among 
children,  dealing  with  altruistic  motives  rather  than  the  selfish 
and  personal,  and  using  co-operative  rather  than  individual  meth- 
ods. The  constructive  interests  have  been  used  as  a basis,  and  tlie 
play  element  recognized  by  introducing  the  favorite  character  of 
Christmas,  Santa  Claus. 

In  every  household  in  which  there  are  or  have  been  children, 
there  are  countless  toys,  dolls,  books  and  games  in  various  stages 
e of  dissolution  and  disrepair.  Many  of  these  have  outlived  their 
usefulness  in  that  particular  household,  but  with  the  addition  of 
a little  spare  time  and  ingenuity,  together  with  a touch  of  color 
to  brighten  them  up,  they  would  still  make  most  acceptable  Christ- 
mas gifts  to  many  a child  in  poorer  circumstances.  To  utilize 
this  repair  work  as  a feature  of  our  manual  training  a “Santa 
Claus  Annex  Shop”  was  established. 

It  was  suggested  to  some  of  the  children  that  such  toys  could 
well  be  repaired  in  the  school.  Notice  was  sent  to  the  parents 
that  the  school  would  undertake  to  put  into  good  condition  such 
toys  as  could  be  furnished.  These  toys  would  then  be  given  to 
settlements  in  more  needy  parts  of  the  city  for  distribution. 

The  next  step  was  to  present  the  scheme  to  the  pupils  of  the 
wrhole  school  in  a “Morning  Exercise.”  Upon  reaching  school 
one  morning,  the  pupils  were  confronted  with  the  following  notices 
prominently  displayed  on  posters  in  the  main  hall. 


WANTED— WANTED— AT  ONCE 

Wanted  at  once  good  workers  in  the  following  trades: 

25  Mechanics — Must  have  a good  knowledge  of  auto  repair  work, 
aerial  machines,  boats,  engines  (both  stationary  and  locomotive),  clock- 
work motors,  agricultural  implements,  wagon  repairs,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

20  Painters — Good  at  retouching.  Must  have  experience  in  mixing 
and  judging  colors  and  be  able  to  handle  brushes  well. 

20  Surgeons — (Tn  hospital).  Skill  especially  needed  in  grafting  arms 
and  legs  and  replacing  new  heads.  Those  with  previous  experience  in 
either  hospital  or  private  practice  preferred. 

10  Veterinary  Surgeons — A good  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  of  dogs, 
Teddy  Bears,  and  horses  is  necessary. 

10  Book  Repair  Men — Neat  and  careful  workers,  able  to  handle  needle 
and  paste  brush  well. 


814243 


22 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 


10  Repair  Men  for  Game  Department. 

20  Wrappers  and  Packers— Wanted  for  packing  and  shipping  depart- 
ment. Only  neat  workers  need  apply. 

1 Foreman  and  1 Inspector— Wanted  in  each  of  the  following  de- 
partments : 

Mechanical  Book  Repair 

Painting  Game  Department 

Hospital  Wrapping  and  Packing 

Application  may  be  made  in  person  or  by  letter.  Steady  work  prom- 
ised from  now  until  December  20.  Good  Hours.  Good  Wages. 

(Signed)  SANTA  CLAUS. 

P-  S.— This  is  my  busy  season,  and  I have  appointed  Mr.  Wahlstrom 
superintendent  of  my  Annex  Shop  at  the  Francis  W.  Parker  School.  Par- 
ticulars may  be  obtained  from  him  or  from  any  of  the  teachers  in  said 
school. 

Applications  should  be  in  by  December  1. 

The  following  is  a stenographic  report  of  the  morning  exercise 
which  came  later  in  the  day. 

MORNING  EXERCISE — Santa  Claus  Annex  Shop 

Tuesday,  Nov.  29 

Mr.  Wahistrom: 

“How  many  people  here  believe  in  Santa  Claus?” 

(Almost  every  hand  in  the  school  raised — with  a background  of 
broad  smiles). 

Mr.  Wahlstrom: 

“Santa  Claus  is  a pretty  real  person  to  us.  As  we  get  older  I do 
not  know  what  happens,  but  we  are  sometimes  a little  bit  afraid  to  own 
our  friendship  or  say  we  believe  in  him.  As  we  get  a little  older  still, 
we  begin  to  know  him  by  another  name — sometimes  it  is  'The  Christmas 
Spirit.’ 

“I  think  the  other  night  I must  have  had  a visit  from  Santa  Claus. 
It  was  pretty  late  and  most  of  you  must  have  been  sound  asleep.  He 
had  a nice  scheme  and  wanted  to  know  if  I would  help  him  out.’  He 
said  he  was  very  busy,  and  that  there  were  a lot  of  people  whom  he 
could  not  get  around  to  see  if  he  did  not  have  a little  help.  You  all 
expect  a visit  from  Santa  Claus  Christmas  morning — I know  T do. 

“This  was  his  scheme — he  wanted  to  know  if  we  could  not  organize 
an  Annex  Shop  and  help  fix  up  some  things  he  could  use  at  Christmas 
time  to  send  around  to  some  little  folks  not  quite  so  fortunate  as  you 
are.  You  have  already  brought  in  a few  things  we  can  fix  up,  but  we 
should  like  more. 

“You  probably  noticed  the  want  ads  in  the  hall  this  morning,  ask- 
ing for  helpers  in  different  lines  of  trade. 

“I  am  sure  there  are  plenty  of  veterinary  surgeons  in  the  school 


Year  Book 


23 


who  know  all  about  the  insides  of  the  Teddy  Bears,  and  doctors  who 
know  how  to  sew  on  dolls’  heads.  And  there  are  lots  of  good  painters 
in  the  school  and  all  sorts  of  mechanical  people  who  can  take  a toy 
and  see  what  the  trouble  is  and  fix  it  up.  We  shall  need  help  from 
everybody.  Some  of  the  high  school  boys  and  girls  who  have  had  metal 
work  are  expert  with  solder  and  they  can  solder  pieces  together  for  us 
when  they  are  broken  loose. 

“Now,  if  you  have  read  the  rules  carefully,  you  will  see  that  Santa 
Claus  has  promised  good  wages  and  good  hours.  The  regular  hours  are 
going  to  be  two  afternoons  a week,  after  school — on  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays.  Santa  Claus  is  a pretty  systematic  sort  of  person — if  he  were 
not  he  would  be  entirely  swamped.  Here  are  some  of  the  cards  that 
he  has  asked  the  Seventh  Grade  to  print. 

“The  first  is  to  be  like  a shipping  tag.  Every  toy  is  going  to  have 
a number,  and  this  will  be  put  on  this  card,  with  the  name  of  the  ar- 
ticle to  be  repaired  and  the  different  things  to  be  done  to  it. 


Santa  Claus  Annex  Shop 

No6S.  Article  ^<2  . 


. Description  /?< cf/  usf  Sh  Caff'S 

0 ' /■  ' 

, . ..  f'oT . o n .w/?ee  i 

• & fu.e  on.  piece  of  das hhoa rej  \ 

(From  ftg.)  Ffake.  new  shaft 

s Workman  'fflifQrcf  ft.  Inspector's  O.  K. k/. 


“This  will  keep  the  inspectors  and  superintendent  pretty  busy.  The 
directions  are  to  be  written  pretty  carefully,  and  we  shall  need  good 
inspectors  and  good  foremen.  This  ticket  will  be  tied  to  the  article 
and  then  it  will  be  ready  for  someone  to  start  to  work  with  it. 

“Santa  Claus  believes  in  unions.  He  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  union- 
izing the  whole  world,  but  he  hopes  to.  And  he  is  going  to  have  a union 
card  for  all  the  workers  in  the  Annex  Shop.  It  will  read: 


24 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 


’ . *•  " • ::  v "T-TITS": 

Union  Card 

BROTHERHOOD  of  CHRISTMAS  WORKERS 

FRANCIS  W.  PARKER  SCHOOL  BRANCH  f 

Cbis  certifies  that 

is  a member  In  good  standing  in  this  UNION  and  has  helped  to  promote  the 

spirit  of  Um  work  to  the  beet  of  bis  ability,  ; 

e 

Santa  Gians  . 

• ' , ' . {k  / - • N 

-■  ■:  -■  • . . PER  -gnj'  . r "'■! 


“Of  course  Santa  Claus  will  not  be  able  to  sign  all  these  in  per- 
son, but  he  will  expect  the  inspectors  and  foremen  and  the  people  in 
charge  of  this  factory  to  sign  for  him. 

“The  next  thing  we  must  have  in  this  factory  will  be  a time  card. 
Each  person  working  in  the  factory  will  have  one,  whether  he  is  a 
painter,  a mechanic  cr  a surgeon — no  matter  in  what  department  he 
works — and  the  inspector  will  check  off  the  time. 


SANTA  CLAUS  ANNEX  SHOP 
TIMECARD 

NAME 

DEPT. 


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TIME  IN  _J 

TIME  OUT 

FOR  EM 'NS  O.K. 

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Be  sure  to  have  v<iiu  Foreman  check  the  time. 


“We  have  noticed  that  he  promises  good  wages  and  good  hours. 
But  Santa  Claus  does  not  have  very  much  cash  at  this  time  of  the  year, 
and  so  he  is  going  to  pay  by  check.  Here  is  a copy  of  his  check: 


(Reprinted  from  “ Junior  Red  Cross  Thews'"  for  December , 1930) 


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boys,  *‘choo-choos”  for  those  still  tinier;  doll  beds  days,  between  Thanksgiving  and  our  Christmas 
for  little  girls  (and  some  not  so  little) ; soft  vacation,  and  then  the  social  settlements,  such 
stocking  dolls  for  wee  babies;  bean  bags,  doll  as  Hull  House,  Chicago  Commons  and  the  United 
dresses,  games  and  scrapbooks.  Charities  help  us  out  by  finding  the  right  little 

Now  we  have  the  work  organized  much  as  it  boy  or  girl  for  each  toy  we  have  have  made  or 


Year  Book 


25 


“These  can  he  cashed  at  any  time  at  Father  Time’s  Bank  of  Dis- 
count. Father  Time  will  pay  these  checks  without  protest. 

“Now,  as  to  the  rate  of  wages.  Of  course  the  workers  in  some  de- 
partments will  have  more  skill  than  others,  but  Santa  Claus  thought  it 
would  be  well  to  make  the  rate  of  wages  uniform.  For  every  hour’s 
work  he  is  going  to  pay  five  happy  days,  and  those  happy  days  ycu  can 
cash  at  any  time  when  you  need  them.  You  can  add  them  on  to  a long 
life,  if  you  see  fit.  That  is  the  best  kind  of  pay;  that  is  the  kind  of  pay 
that  Santa  Claus  himself  takes  out  for  his  work,  and  he  certainly  is  long 
lived  and  enjoys  life  and  looks  healthy  whenever  we  see  his  picture. 
So  I think  the  pay  is  very  good. 

“Now  what  we  need  is  good  workers,  good  inspectors,  and  good 
foremen.  Here  are  some  of  the  things  on  these  tables  that  have  been 
brought  in,  and  I might  show  you  the  kind  of  work  that  will  need  to 
be  done. 

“This  is  a Teddy  Bear  who  has  lost  his  voice.  I do  not  know  whether 
he  can  be  cured  or  not. 

“Here  is  a book  that  must  go  to  the  Book  Repair  Department. 

“Here  is  a pair  of  horses  that  seem  to  have  run  away.  If  we  can- 
not find  their  wagon  we  will  hitch  them  to  something  else. 

“Here  is  a telephone  out  of  order.  I think  that  can  be  fixed  up  by 
the  high  school  boys  who  are  studying  physics. 

“Here  is  a hen  who  has  run  her  legs  off.  We  ought  to  do  something 
for  her. 

“Here  is  a horse  without  a tail.  We  shall  have  to  turn  this  over  to 
the  hospital. 

“Here  is  a good  boat  that  needs  a mast  and  some  sails,  a bowsprit, 
and  a new  coat  of  paint. 

“Here  is  a bank  that  does  not  work. 

“Here  is  a piano  without  any  legs — a grand  piano  at  that.  I think 
that  might  go  to  the  music  department  later  to  be  put  in  tune. 

“There  is  another  department  that  will  be  pretty  busy  later  on. 
That  is  the  Wrapping  and  Packing  Department.  We  shall  need  a great 


26 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 


number  of  boxes  for  that.  I wish  every  one  in  the  school  would  look 
around  at  home  and  see  what  empty  paper  boxes  he  has  that  he  can  bring 
in  and  turn  over  to  this  department.  Then  we  can  get  some  pretty  pa- 
per and  fix  these  boxes  up  and  make  nice  packages  of  them.” 

Miss  Cooke: 

“Last  year  the  teachers  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  the  things  when 
they  came  in  and  then  again  when  they  were  ready  to  be  sent  away, 
and  it  was  as  if  a miracle  had  been  wrought.  There  is  one  thing,  how- 
ever, that  I should  like  to  add.  I should  like  to  be  appointed  receiver 
of  something  else.  It  seems  to  me  that  every  boy  and  girl  in  Chicago 
ought  to  have  a good  Christmas.  There  are  many  little  girls  in  the  city, 
I know,  who  do  not  have  a single  doll,  and  many  little  boys  who  never 
had  a toy  to  play  with.  Some  of  you,  I know,  have  a great  many  books, 
and  a great  many  dolls,  and  a great  many  toys.  It  seems  to  me  that 
we  ought  to  add  a Sharing  Department  to  all  these  others,  and  I should 
like  to  be  receiver.  If  any  of  you  have  a doll  that  you  really  care  about, 
but  would  like  to  have  some  other  little  girl  care  about  it,  I should 
like  to  have  you  bring  that  in  and  mark  it,  ‘A  gift  that  I should  like 
to  share.’  I should  like  to  have  these  things  brought  tO'  my  office.” 

Each  of  the  departments  was  presided  over  by  a larger  pupil 
or  a teacher  as  a foreman  and  inspector.  The  many  things  to  be 
done  were  classified.  This  plan  furnished  a wide  range  of  processes 
in  many  varied  materials  and  a splendid  outlet  for  the  ability 
and  ingenuity  of  pupils  from  the  first  grade  up  to  the  eighth  grade 
and  high  school.  The  processes  varied  in  difficulty  from  mending 
card-board  boxes,  pasting  labels,  painting  “scuffed”  and  battered 
toys,  to  soldering  and  tinsmithing,  repairing  clockwork  locomo- 
tives and  steam  engines. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  time  announced,  pupils  were  al- 
lowed to  give  other  spare  time;  and  in  some  cases,  when  a class 
had  finished  the  work  planned  in  the  regular  shop  period,  the 
class  time  was  devoted  to  the  work. 

When  the  first  appeal  was  made  for  toys,  attics  and  store- 
rooms were  ransacked  and  the  accumulations  of  years,  possibly, 
brought  in.  It  is  possible  that  after  a year  or  two  the  supply  will 
diminish.  Attention  can  then  be  turned  to  manufacturing  new 
toys,  such  as  dolls  y beds,  tables,  chairs,  games,  etc.,  holding  to  the 
same  factory  basis  and  subdivision  of  work.  The  pupils  appreciate 
the  value  of  this  method  when  the  time  is  limited.  Each  pupil, 
instead  of  performing  all  the  processes,  would  do  the  work  he  was 
best  fitted  to  do.  It  would  also  be  well  to  introduce  labor  saving 
devices,  templates,  etc.,  to  increase  the  efficiency  and  speed  of  the 
workers. 


Year  Book 


27 


In  addition  to  the  toys  the  numerous  books  and  games  fur- 
nished abundant  field  for  activity.  Some  of  them  were  in  per- 
fectly presentable  condition,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  were 
in  need  of  attention,  and  some  could  be  redeemed  only  by  much 
careful  work.  The  foremen  and  inspectors  of  the  groups  were 
usually  high  school  pupils,  but  back  of  them,  as  general  helper 
and  advisor,  were  one  or  more  members  of  the  library  force. 
These  teachers  demonstrated  what  could  be  done  for  books,  and 
provided  the  materials  to  work  with.  As  in  the  case  of  the  toys, 
a ticket  was  filled  out  specifying  the  kind  of  repairing  or  clean- 
ing demanded.  The  kinds  of  repairs  which  the  pupils  could  do 


were : removing  the  marks  of  soiled  fingers  from  the  covers  and 
pages  with  powdered  pumice  stone;  replacing  loose  leaves  with 
Success  Binder;  putting  a new  piece  of  cloth  on  the  back  of  a 
book  and  over  the  covers ; mending  torn  pages  with  transparent 
gummed  tissue  paper;  pasting  down  a fly-leaf  to  cover  some  un- 
sightly writing  on  the  inside  of  the  covers;  and  sometimes  even 
making  an  entirely  new  cover  for  a small  book,  fastening  the 
pages  into  the  covers  with  double-stitched  Success  Binder.  Books 
in  which  the  sewing  was  much  loosened  were  cast  aside  as  be- 
yond the  possibilities  of  our  skill  and  allowance  of  time.  Such 
books  were  utilized  for  scrap  books.  To  save  time  and  confusion 
the  repair  equipment  was  kept  on  a certain  table  together  with 
a pile  of  books  previously  examined.  Then  if  a child  arrived 


28 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 


early  in  the  morning,  he  could  fill  in  his  spare  minutes  with  some 
repairing. 

The  work  upon  games  is  very  much  like  that  required  on 
books,  so  that  the  two  may  well  be  in  the  hands  of  one  depart- 
ment. The  boxes  containing  the  games  must  often  be  cleaned 
and  mended.  It  must  also  be  ascertained  that  all  the  parts  of 
the  game  or  puzzle  are  present. 

With  these  arrangements,  one  year,  six  pupils  and  one  teacher 
cleaned  and  repaired  about  seventy-five  books  and  thirty  games 
in  the  brief  three  weeks  between  the  Thanksgiving  and  Holiday 
vacation.  Probably  about  twenty  hours  were  devoted  to  the 
work.  All  such  repairing  is  simple  and  may  readily  be  done  by 
pupils  from  the  sixth  grade  on  through  the  high  school,  if  they 
have  been  taught  to  use  their  hands. 

This  work  does  not  appeal  to  the  aesthetic  sense,  but  rather 
to  the  interest  of  the  child  whose  love  of  order  is  strong.  The 
joy  of  making  things  clean  and  presentable  must  be  sufficient 
to  enable  one  to  disregard  the  stickiness  of  the  glue,  the  flying 
pumice  stone,  and  tedious  erasures.  It  has  chanced  that  among 
the  volunteers  for  this  department  there  have  been  some  of  this 
description,  and  it  was  a joy  to  see  them  work. 

A simple  mending  outfit  consists  of: 

1 pint  flexible  glue. 

1 brush  for  same. 

y2  lb.  powdered  pumice  stone. 

y2  dozen  rolls  assorted  colors  and  widths  silk-finish  cloth. 

y2  dozen  rolls  assorted  widths  double-stitched  binder. 

2 clamps  for  holding  books  which  have  been  glued. 

'Some  boards  to  place  under  the  clamps  to  keep  the  sides  of  the  book 
even. 

Pieces  of  muslin  or  cheesecloth  for  applying  the  pumice  stone  to 
covers  and  pages. 

Some  Hardmuth  and  kneaded  erasers.* 

The  repair  of  the  dolls  proved  quite  an  art  and  enlisted  the 
help  of  many  of  the  high  school  girls  and  some  of  the  teachers. 

*The  flexible  glue,  double-stitched  binder,  and  silk  finished  cloth  may  be 
obtained  from  Gaylord  Brothers,  Syracuse,  New  York,  who  will  gladly  send 
any  one  desiring  it  their  catalogue^  of  library  supplies,  in  one  of  which  are 
directions  for  rebinding  books. 

If  some  Success  Binder,  adhesive  parchment  paper,  or  gummed  onion- 
skin, and  a box  of  powdered  pumice  stone  were  in  every  school  room  and 
the  children  made  acquainted  with  their  possibilities,  and  expected  to  keep 
their  own  books  and  those  supplied  by  the  school  in  good  order,  it  would 
be  a very  efficient  factor  in  cultivating  a regard  for  property,  one’s  own  or 
that  of  the  public,  which  is  so  commonly  lacking  to-day. 


Year  Book 


29 


From  the  collection  of  severed  arms  and  legs,  and  with  the  aid 
cf  glue  pot,  needle  and  elastic,  many  a doll  which  might  have 
been  thought  well  nigh  incurable  was  restored  to  almost  pristine 
freshness.  Some  of  the  older  girls  who  had  outgrown  their  dolls, 
brought  in  miniature  wardrobes  which,  when  freshly  laundered 
by  the  children,  were  used  in  dressing  the  dolls. 


Meanwhile  pasteboard  boxes  of  all  sizes,  shapes  and  kinds, 
in  which  the  toys  and  dolls  were  to  be  packed,  had  been  accumu- 
lating. These  were  carefully  looked  over  and  cleaned  in  the 
same  manner  as  were  the  books,  the  children  selecting  their  boxes 
and  decorating,  after  their  own  fashion,  with  pictures,  bits  cut 
from  wall  papers,  or  bright  colored  papers.  If  the  boxes  were 
too  unsightly  to  be  made  pretty  by  decoration,  or  needed  rein- 
forcing at  the  corners,  they  were  completely  re-covered — gilt, 
silver,  bronze,  gray,  red,  etc.,  as  a child  might  choose.  Children 
of  the  second,  third  and  fourth  grades  worked  in  this  depart- 
ment, and  they  filled  some  of  their  boxes  with  several  pages  of 
dolls  and  dresses  cut  from  the  Ladies  Home  Journal  and  Good 
Housekeeping,  rolls  of  crepe  tissue  paper  of  different  colors,  also 
bronze,  gilt,  and  silver  paper  together  with  a tube  of  library 
paste,  for  dressing  the  paper  dolls. 

One  of  the  classes  had  made  a set  of  doll’s  beds.  Making  the 
mattresses  and  pillows,  with  the  sheets  and  pillow  cases,  proved 
fascinating  work  of  which  the  girls  were  duly  proud,  especially 
the  mattresses  which  were  stuffed  and  tufted  in  a truly  workman- 
like manner. 


♦ 


30 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 


As  mentioned  above,  the  shop  time  of  a class  is  frequently 
devoted  to  this  form  cf  work.  Thus,  one  year,  the  pupils  of  the 
first  grade  decided  that  instead  of  making  a doll  house  to  play 
with  in  school  they  would  make  it  for  the  children  of  one  of  the 
hospitals.  Instead  of  one  large  house  of  several  rooms  to  stand 
on  the  floor,  it  was  decided  to  make  individual  rooms — libraries, 
bed-rooms,  kitchens,  dining  rooms,  that  every  child  might  have 
one  on  his  bed  to  play  with.  Each  pupil  chose  the  room  he  wished 
to  make — sawing,  planing  and  nailing  the  boards  into  oblong, 
shallow  boxes  of  uniform  size,  with  one  side  open.  Windows 
were  cut  in  the  ends  and  moulding  nailed  on  the  outside  for 
casings.  One  boy  cleverly  suggested  adding  two  pieces  of  wood 
to  the  bottom  of  the  house  which  would  support  the  weight  so 
that  it  might  not  rest  on  the  invalid.  These  supports  were  put 
on  with  hinges  and  could  be  folded  under  when  building  together 
to  make  one  house.  Furniture  was  made  of  wood.  White  enamel 
was  chosen  as  the  most  sanitary  paint  for  both  houses  and  fur- 
niture. The  sixth  grade  made  the  wall  paper,  curtains  and  bed- 
ding, and  the  second  grade  made  small  rugs  in  'appropriate 
colors. 

Another  year  a Noah’s  Ark  and  many  games  of  dominoes 
were  made.  The  Ark  was  built  in  the  manual  training  room  and 
looked  as  near  like  the  original  as  first  grade  children  could  make 
it.  The  animals,  two  of  every  kind,  were  painted  on  paper,  cut 
out  and  nailed  by  the  feet  to  small  pieces  of  wood  which  sup- 
ported them.  Noah  and  his  family  were  produced  in  the  same 
manner.  The  dominoes  were  cut  out  of  double  faced  cardboard, 
red  and  white,  with  the  correct  number  of  dots  marked  on  each 
one  with  soft  lead  pencil.  A box  and  cover  of  red  cardboard 
was  made  to  hold  each  set. 


Year  Book 


31 


The  second  grade  scrapbook  party  was  the  outgrowth  of  a 
parents’  meeting  at  which  the  mothers  asked  for  some  definite 
part  in  the  Christmas  work.  It  was  decided  that  they  should 
make  at  home  simple,  durable  cloth  books  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes.  The  cloth  was  double  for  each  page  and  twelve  pages  con- 
stituted a book.  All  the  children  of  the  school  were  asked  to 
contribute  pictures.  On  the  appointed  day  the  mothers  and  chil- 
dren spent  a social  hour  together  in  the  grade  room  arranging  and 
pasting  the  pictures  in  the  books,  which  made  attractive  gifts  for 
the  Crippled  Children’s  Hospital.  Before  going  home  the  chil- 
dren served  simple  refreshments  which  they  had  prepared. 

In  preparing  for  the  Christmas  work,  as  mentioned  above, 
a Morning  Exercise  is  devoted  each  year  to  developing  the  proper 
spirit  of  giving  and  sharing  among  the  children.  One  year  this 
consisted  of  a very  effective  reading  of  Tolstoi’s  excellent  story 
“ Where  Love  is  There  is  God  Also.”* 

The  next  day  - the  Morning  Exercise  on  the  Christmas  Toy 
Shop  was  given  as  reported  stenographically  on  a previous  page. 
As  mentioned  in  that  exercise,  an  appeal  was  made  also  to  the 
children  to  bring  in  some  of  their  real  treasures,  which  they  still 
cherished,  the  intention  being  to  see  what  response  would  be  made 
to  an  appeal  which  would  involve  the  element  of  real  sacrifice, 
namely,  the  giving  away  of  some  toy  which  was  still  dear  to  the 


*In  order  to  gain  the  assistance  of  the  home  in  our  work  along  this 
line  the  following  letter  was,  last  year,  sent  to  the  home. 

“To  Patrons  and  Friends  of  the  Francis  W.  Parker  School: 

“The  school  is  this  year  making  a greater  effort  than  ever  before  to 
impress  upon  the  children  the  beauty  of  the  Christmas  spirit.  The  children 
have  heard  Tolstoi’s  story,  ‘Where  Love  is,  There  God  is  Also,’  and  through- 
out the  month  we  hope  to  keep  before  them  the  essential  meaning  of  the 
Christmas  season — that  it  is  a time  of  kindly  feeling  tcwrards  one’s  fellows. 
We  should  be  glad  if  not  one  child  saw  any  of  its  unlovely  features — hurry, 
worry,  ostentation,  perfunctory  giving.  We  wish  them  to  feel  that  a gift 
is  nothing,  unless  genuine  affection  prompts  it;  nothing,  unless  into  it 
the  giver  has  put  a part  of  himself..  His  own  work  is,  .cf  course,  the  best., 
but  at  least  careful,  thoughtful  selection  is  indispensable.  This  means 
that  a child  should  be  allowed  to  give  very  few  gifts. 

“We  believe  that  you  will  agree  with  us  that  Christmas  ‘lists,’  by 
means  of  which  the  parents  meet  large  responsibilities  for  him  in  a busi- 
ness-like way,  have  no  rightful  place  in  the  child’s  growing  years,  if  we 
are  to  preserve  the  true  spirit  of  Christmas  giving.  We  are  very  anxious  to 
have  no  Christmas  gifts  given  in  the  school  which  are  in  any  way  forced 
or  suggested,  and  the  school  collections  for  presents  often  have  this  result. 
We  ask  you  to  cooperate,  with  us  in  having  the  children  understand  that  if 
they  have  not  the  time  or  inclination  to  give  in  the  right  way  Christmas 
gifts  in  the  school,  what  they  really  can  give  cf  themselves  in  helpful 
influence,  in  service,  is  even  more  appreciated  and  often  represents  more 
genuine  giving. 

“We  hope  that  it  will  be  understood  that  -we  want  to  help  and  en- 
courage in  every  possible  way  the  true  spirit  of  giving,  but  we  want  to 
remove  those  artificial  incentives  to  universal  exchange  of  Christmas  gifts 
which  mar  this  season  of  goodfellowship  and  place  upon  children  the  pro- 
mature  burdens  of  adult  responsibility.  Let  us  keep  our  children  simple 
and  natural  and  genuine,  and,  protect  them  as  long  as  possible  from  t^e 
sophistication  which  certainly  has  no  place  in  their  Christmas  festival.” 


32 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 


young  heart.  The  response  was  very  gratifying,  in  fact  it  was 
so  generous  that  it  might  be  suspected  that  baser  motives  than 
those  of  unselfish  sacrifice  prompted  the  response.  That  this  was 
not  the  case,  however,  and  that  the  motives  were  genuine  was 
evidenced  many  times  and  frequently  corroborated  by  the  home. 
For  instance  when  a little  girl  came  hugging  to  her  bosom  two 
dolls  which  bore  traces  of  much  loving  care,  and  handed  them 
over  with  the  remark  that  “they  just  had  to  go  to  the  same 
mother,”  it  was  evident  that  she  was  parting  with  one  of  her 
most  beloved  treasures.  There  is  no  question  that  the  simple 
story  of  the  shoemaker  in  Tolstoi’s  tale  was  hearing  fruit. 

The  value  of  the  Santa  Claus  Toy  Shop  was  manifested  in 
many  ways.  Aside  from  the  thought  of  working  for  others  which 
was  at  the  bottom  of  the  scheme,  the  feeling  of  goodfellowship 
which  pervaded  the  work  was  most  noticeable.  The  kindly  and 
sympathetic  interest  of  the  older  hoys,  who  filled  the  role  of  in- 
spectors and  foremen,  in  the  struggles  of  the'  younger  people  in 
some  difficult  piece  of  repair  work,  helped  to  unite  the  school. 
High  school  boys  “renewed  their  youth”  and  also  discovered 
some  interesting  applications  of  their  recent  physics  experiments 
while  investigating  the  “innards”  of  some  mechanical  toy.  The 
children  of  primary  grades  were  busy  with  paste  pot  and  shears, 
and  it  would  be  hard  indeed  to  recognize  in  the  gay  and  festive 
results  of  their  labors  the  commonplace  cardboard  boxes  which 
had  been  brought  in  for  the  packing  of  the  finished  product. 

Although  there  was  a spirit  of  play  in  the  work  it  was  in- 
teresting to  note  the  seriousness  with  which  the  pupils  entered 
into  it.  The  lengthening  column  of  figures  on  the  time  card  was 
eagerly  watched,  and  the  pay  check  at  the  end  was  as  highly 
prized  as  though  it  represented  actual  cash.  Of  no  small  value 
was  the  insight  into  industrial  organization  and  subdivision  of 
labor,  which  was  appreciated  by  even  the  youngest  worker.  And 
underneath  it  all  was  the  joyous  spirit  of  Christmas,  the  knowl- 
edge that  the  work  was  a labor  of  love,  in  order  that  some  one 
less  fortunate  might  have  his  share  of  Christmas  joy. 

T”E  112SASY  cf  the 
NOV  ? 1932 
UNIVESSiTY  CF  iLuanis. 


Publications  of 
The  Francis  W.  Parker  School 


The  Francis  W.  Parker  School  Year  Book 

By  the  faculty  of  the  School.  Each  volume  will  be  devoted 
to  some  phase  of  education  as  worked  out  in  this  School. 
Volumes  I,  IT,  and  III  are  now  ready. 


Aus  Nah  und  Fern 

A magazine  for  students  of  German  in  secondary  schools  and 
colleges.  A text  for  use  in  German  classes.  Special  emphasis 
on  current  events,  travel  sketches,  letters  from  Germany,  etc. 
Published  four  times  during  the  academic  year. 


Plays 

The  following  plays  suitable  for  use  in  elementary  schools 
are  now  ready:  Ivanhoe,  Robin  Hood , True  Thomas , Lionel  of 
Orkney , Knight  and  Hermit , Return  of  the  Douglas , Paradise  of 
Children , Wrath  of  Achilles,  Brotherhood. 


Francis  W.  Parker  School  Leaflets 

Reading  lessons  on  History,  Literature,  Handwork,  Nature 
Study  and  Experimental  Science.  For  use  in  elementary 
schools.  Printed  in  type  adapted  to  the  grade  in  which  they 
are  to  be  used,  and  punched  for  simple  binding. 


Miscellaneous  Pamphlets 

The  History  of  Chicago  for  the  Third  Grade  and  The  Rhinegold 
for  the  Sixth  Grade  are  typical  of  a series  of  publications  for 
use  in  the  elementary  school. 

For  further  information,  catalogues,  and  price  lists  address 


Francis  W.  Parker  School 

330  Webster  Avenue 
CHICAGO 


